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Moon Insurance Managers, Inc. · TDI license #5595

Go-Kart Track Insurance in Texas

Texas treats a go-kart track as an amusement ride, and it treats the whole kart fleet as one. For the business that runs the track, those two facts decide what the policy has to be, who inspects the karts, and what gets filed with the state before the first lap.

This page is for the track that runs all year. If you are hiring karts or rides for a single event, your side of it is on the special event insurance page. Other rides and recreation businesses are sorted on the amusement and recreation insurance page.

Ask about your track
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The state rule first

A go-kart track is an amusement ride

Occupations Code chapter 2151 defines an amusement ride as “a mechanical device that carries passengers along, around, or over a fixed or restricted course or within a defined area for the purpose of giving the passengers amusement, pleasure, or excitement.” TDI, which administers the chapter, names “go-karts” first in its list of what that covers.

The statute also says how to count them. Section 2151.052(b): “An amusement ride that consists of two or more self-propelled, four-wheeled vehicles designed to be operated independently and to carry fewer than three persons, including go-carts, is a single amusement ride.” That section sets TDI’s fee, so a track pays one $40 fee a year for the fleet, not one per kart.

Sources: Tex. Occ. Code §§ 2151.002(1), 2151.052(b); TDI — amusement ride FAQ. Verified .

In the statute’s shape

The liability limit for a kart track

The minimum policy depends on the ride’s class. Class A is a ride “with a fixed location designed primarily for use by children younger than 13 years of age”, and every other ride is Class B. Most tracks are Class B.

Class B — most go-kart tracks
Every ride that is not Class A. A track for teenagers and adults is Class B, and so is any kart ride that travels from site to site. $1,000,000 bodily injury and $500,000 property damage per occurrence, or $1,500,000 per occurrence combined single limit.
Class A — a fixed children’s track
A ride with a fixed location designed primarily for use by children younger than 13. $100,000 bodily injury and $50,000 property damage per occurrence with a $300,000 annual aggregate, or $150,000 per occurrence combined single limit with a $300,000 annual aggregate.

Those are floors. A lease, a landlord or a group booking contract can ask for more, and when it does, the contract sets the number. A kart track that shares a site with other rides needs each of those rides’ own limit as well.

An inflatable on the same site is the exception to the table: it has its own section of the statute and its own figure, a combined single limit per occurrence. The bounce house and inflatable rental page covers it in full.

Source: Tex. Occ. Code §§ 2151.002, 2151.101(a)(3). Verified .

The same as any ride

The inspection, the filing and the sticker

The track is inspected at least once a year by the insurer or a person the insurer has contracted with, not by TDI. The inspector completes Form AR-100. The policy and the inspection certificate are filed with TDI with the fee, and on approval TDI issues Form AR-101, the compliance sticker, which goes where riders can see it. The first filing has to be the policy itself, or a certified true copy with its forms and endorsements; TDI’s rule says a certificate of insurance will not do.

The operator also owes a copy of the certificate and the policy to each sponsor, lessor or landowner responsible for the ride being offered to the public, which is why a landlord or a mall asks for them. Operating without meeting the chapter’s requirements is a Class B misdemeanor, and each day is a separate offense. Injuries that need medical treatment are reported to TDI quarterly, and a lawsuit over a ride is a reportable event in its own right.

Sources: Tex. Occ. Code §§ 2151.101, .103, .1022, .153; TDI — 28 TAC §§ 5.9003, 5.9004, 5.9007 (Order 2024-8909); TDI — amusement ride FAQ. Verified .

An open question

Karting, racing and TDI’s motorsports line

TDI’s own list of what is not an amusement ride includes “Motorsports”. The statute does not use the word, and TDI does not define it. TDI has not said where karting ends and motorsports begins, and nothing we have read settles it, so this page does not draw that line for you.

If your track runs races, league nights or practice for racing karts, put the question to TDI’s amusement ride unit before relying on either answer: 512-676-6750, or Amusements@tdi.texas.gov. Tell us what TDI says, and the quote starts from it.

Source: TDI — amusement ride FAQ. Verified .

Beyond the statute

The track, the pits and the people watching

The statute sets the minimum for the ride. The rest of the account is the business around it, and an underwriter asks about each part.

Spectators. Parents and friends watching from the rail are not riding, and where they stand, and what separates them from the track, is one of the first questions. The pits. Fueling, charging and repairs happen there, so who is allowed in matters. Releases. Many tracks have drivers sign one. Send a copy with the submission; what it does in a claim is decided by its wording and the facts, not by having one. Accident cover for drivers is a question to ask a market, not something any policy includes by default.

The karts, the timing system and the building are property, explained on the commercial property page. Staff who push, fuel and fix karts are a separate decision: workers’ compensation is optional for most private employers in Texas, and it has its own page.

Have these ready

What moves the cost of go-kart insurance

There is no honest price on a page like this one, because the price follows the operation. These are the facts that move it:

  • The karts — how many, gas or electric, single or two-seat, and whether children drive their own.
  • The track — indoor or outdoor, its length, and what lines it: tires, walls, fencing.
  • Who drives — walk-up customers, parties and groups, or a regular league.
  • Spectators — where they stand, and what separates them from the track.
  • The pits — where karts are fueled, charged and repaired, and who goes there.
  • Other attractions on the same site, each judged on its own.
  • Your paperwork — rider rules, a signed release, and any contract’s insurance clause.
  • Claims and incidents — anything that has already happened, including anything reported to TDI.

The $40 a year that goes to TDI is a state filing fee. It is not part of the premium.

No obligation

Tell us about the track

Moon places go-kart tracks through a market it does not name. That is not a promise that any one track will be accepted, and it decides nothing about what the law requires.

Moon Insurance is an independent agency on FM 1959 in southeast Houston. Send the number of karts, the track layout and any contract’s insurance clause with the inquiry. The phone is fastest: (281) 484-8320, or use the form below.

Monday to Thursday, 9:00 to 5:00; Friday, 9:00 to 4:00. Our Houston office is at 360 FM 1959, Houston, TX 77034.

Keep this to the basics — no incident details, customer names or payroll detail. Those come later, on the phone or through a route we will name.

Go-kart insurance questions

Do go-kart tracks need insurance in Texas?

Yes. TDI lists go-karts among amusement rides, and Occupations Code chapter 2151 says a person may not operate an amusement ride without a liability policy in effect at the limit for that ride, an inspection at least once a year by the insurer or a person the insurer has contracted with, and a filing with TDI.

How much liability insurance does a go-kart track need?

Most tracks are Class B rides, and the statute sets $1,000,000 bodily injury and $500,000 property damage per occurrence, or $1,500,000 per occurrence combined single limit. A fixed track designed primarily for children younger than 13 is Class A, with lower limits and an annual aggregate. A lease, a landlord or a group contract can ask for more, and when it does, the contract sets the number.

Does each kart pay its own TDI fee?

No. Section 2151.052(b) says a ride of two or more self-propelled, four-wheeled vehicles designed to be operated independently and to carry fewer than three persons, including go-carts, is a single amusement ride. That is the fee section, so the fleet pays one $40 fee a year.

Who inspects a go-kart track — TDI?

No. TDI says in its own FAQ that it does not inspect rides. The inspection is done at least once a year by the insurer or a person the insurer has contracted with, on Form AR-100. TDI reviews the filing and issues the AR-101 compliance sticker.

What about a racing series or a league?

TDI’s list of things that are not amusement rides includes “Motorsports”, and TDI has not said where karting ends and motorsports begins. We do not guess at it. If your track runs races, ask TDI’s amusement ride unit on 512-676-6750 before you rely on either answer.

From the library

Further reading

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